History WakeUpCallBoss / DarkSouls

** A player who doesn't have a grasp of ''Elden Ring''[='s=] fundamentals and tries to beeline to where Grace points can expect to be told to "put these foolish ambitions to rest" a ''lot''. Margit the Fell Omen doesn't have any particular gimmick,[[note]]Aside from an invisible wall that keeps him, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard but not you]], from falling out of the arena, but almost every boss in the series with an arena that can be fallen out of has that.[[/note]] aside from a well-hidden item that temporarily stuns him. He just hits hard and fast, with lengthy combo strings that can overwhelm turtling players, delayed attacks to mess up your dodge timings, quick projectiles to punish healing, and overall excellent offense, defense, and mobility.

** A player who doesn't have a grasp of ''Elden Ring''[='s=] fundamentals and tries to beeline to where Grace points can expect to be told to "put these foolish ambitions to rest" a ''lot''. Margit the Fell Omen doesn't have any particular gimmick,[[note]]Aside from an invisible wall that keeps him, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard but not you]], from falling out of the arena, but almost every boss in the series with an arena that can be fallen out of has that.[[/note]] aside from a well-hidden item that temporarily stuns him. He just hits hard and fast, with lengthy combo strings that can overwhelm turtling players, delayed attacks to mess up your dodge timings, quick projectiles to punish healing, and overall excellent offense, defense, and mobility.

** Abyss Watchers have a reputation for this, Vordt, Greatwood, Crystal Sage (unless you’re a sorcerer) and Deacons are all comparatively easy bosses. Then you face the Abyss Watchers. Suddenly a warrior is dashing towards you at breakneck speeds with his Greatsword and Dagger combos, demanding your dodges and attack timings be on point. Then another one shows up! Now you have to manage two aggressive bosses at once! Then another shows up.. which luckily helps you, but if you can’t get the Abyss Watcher HP bar down to zero on time, another will show up who’s hostile. Then you finally slay the Abyss Watchers… only for Phase 2 to begin. Enjoy all of the prior sword combos and dashes again, but now with lingering fire AoE after effects to demand your dodge timings and directions are absolutely on point.

* ''VideoGame/BloodBorne'': Like its [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls older]] [[VideoGame/DarkSouls brothers]], ''Bloodborne'' doesn't pull punches: the very first mandatory boss is Father Gascoigne, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters a crazed Hunter]] who thinks everyone else is either a beast or slowly becoming one. He's either your first boss fight or your second, if you took the detour to kill the optional Cleric Beast earlier, which is ''highly'' recommended not only because you need to at least ''see'' a boss to start leveling up, but the experience will be invaluable: Gascoigne is a monster of a man that [[LightningBruiser hits like a truck, is faster than you]], and has three phases, each one harder than the last. The only way to survive the fight is to either have a good handle on the parry and visceral attack mechanics, something quite unlikely at that point, or quick fingers and knowledge of the terrain. Fortunately, he has an extra weak point [[spoiler: a tiny, unassuming, [[GuideDangIt very easily missable]] music box]] that stuns him on use. Only thing is, it will make him skip to phase three after two uses, and after the third it will stop working completely.

** The Gaping Dragon is likely to be the first boss you encounter who doesn't have any form of cheese or easy out. Sure you can call on Solaire and Lautrec as you did for the gargoyles, but this time they're not going to be able to carry you and WILL die if the fight goes on too long. His attacks hit hard and have a wide area of effect, and he even has an attack that can cover the majority of the arena. If you haven't learned to read your enemies and dodge, or you've not bothered improving upon your gear, you're in for a rough time.

** A player who doesn't have a grasp of ''Elden Ring''[='s=] fundamentals and tries to beeline to where Grace points can expect to be told to "put these foolish ambitions to rest" a ''lot''. Margit the Fell Omen doesn't have any particular gimmick,[[note]]Aside from an invisible wall that keeps him, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard but not you]], from falling out of the arena[[/note]] aside from a well-hidden item that temporarily stuns him. He just hits hard and fast, with lengthy combo strings that can overwhelm turtling players, a tendency to punish unwise healing with quick projectiles, and overall excellent offense, defense, and mobility.

The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series' {{tagline}} is "Prepare to die" for a ''[[WakeUpCallBoss very good reason]]''.

** The DLC from the [[UpdatedRerelease Prepare To Die edition]] opens with the Sanctuary Guardian, who's fast, durable, has a varied moveset, inflicts [[StatusEffects poison damage]], shoots [[ArmorPiercingAttack lightning]] and just [[AttackAttackAttack does not let up]]. This introduces you to the boss style for the rest of the new areas, because [[BonusBoss Black Dragon Kalameet]] is further along and the storyline bosses aren't much slower or weaker.
** The Gaping Dragon is likely to be the first boss you encounter who doesn't have any form of cheese or easy out. Sure you can call on Solaire and Lautrec like you did for the gargoyles, but this time they're not going to be able to carry you and WILL die if the fight goes on too long. His attacks hit hard and have a wide area of effect, and he even has an attack that can cover the majority of the arena. If you haven't learned to read your enemies and dodge, or you've not bothered improving upon your gear, you're in for a rough time.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls2'' has the Ruin Sentinels. The bosses up until now aren't pushovers - hell, you've refought [[ThatOneBoss Ornstein]] at this point - but all of them are individuals that can be taken out pretty easily by summoning NPC phantoms and using them as meat shields. The Ruin Sentinels are a ''trio'' of fast, dangerous bosses you need to pray you get to fight one at a time. Summoned [=NPCs=] to help? Yeah, they'll aggro all three, sometimes by accidentally knocking ''you'' off a ledge. Want to fight them solo? Better get good at reading attacks and crowd management, or you're going to spend a lot of time jogging back from the bonfire.

** Abyss Watchers have a reputation for this, Vordt, Greatwood, Crystal Sage (unless you’re a sorcerer) and Deacons are all comparatively easy bosses. Then you face the Abyss Watchers. Suddenly a warrior is dashing towards you at breakneck speeds with his Greatsword and Dagger combos, demanding your dodges and attack timings be on point. Then another one shows up! Then another.. which luckily helps you, but if you can’t get the Abyss Watcher HP bar down to zero on time, another will show up! Then you finally slay the Abyss Watchers… only for Phase 2 to begin. Enjoy all of the prior sword combos again, but now with lingering fire AoE after effects to demand your dodges are on point.

** A player who doesn't have a grasp of ''Elden Ring''[='s=] fundamentals and tries to beeline to where Grace points can expect to be told to "put these foolish ambitions to rest" a ''lot''. Margit the Fell Omen doesn't have any particular gimmick, aside from a well-hidden item that temporarily stuns him. He just hits hard and fast, with lengthy combo strings that can overwhelm turtling players, a tendency to punish unwise healing with quick projectiles, and overall excellent offense, defense, and mobility.

** The Tree Sentinel is a miniboss immediately visible from the exit of the starting dungeon. It is also more than able to wipe out a player that attempts to challenge it, or sees its shining, gilded armor and [[LightIsNotGood assumes it is a friendly NPC]]. The lesson the Tree Sentinel teaches is simple: not every challenge needs to be faced as soon as it's possible.

* '''VideoGame/EldenRing'''

** Compared to the traditional WarmUpBoss the other games in the franchise usually give you, Iudex Gundyr isn't a huge, lumbering behemoth with easily-telegraphed attacks, he's a fast, agile and relentlessly-aggressive warrior with massive reach thanks to his halberd who can take even series veterans off-guard. And when you get him to half HP, [[TurnsRed the Pus of Man begins to spill from his body]], which is enough to put the wind up ''anyone.''

** However, dying to Phalanx is no big deal because the entrance to her arena, once opened, doubles as a shortcut from the start of the level; just sprint past a few beginner-level enemies and you're back in the fight. You will not get so lucky with the next boss, Tower Knight. That gauntlet of knights, snipers, and dragon fire you had to get through to reach him? You have to face that all over again if he kills you. Most subsequent levels are laid out more or less that way, so get used to either redoing encounters with every enemy or learning to get out of their way.

** The Asylum Demon's the first boss in the game. He's also the first enemy that fights back, [[DynamicEntry drops in out of nowhere]] AND when you meet him it's a NoGearLevel as you've yet to recover your starting equipment. Once you actually take him on with your weapon he's not that bad, but his appearance serves as a wake-up call by itself.

** Another one is the game's second boss if Phalanx didn't do it for you, sure Phalanx had a lot of health and a lot of annoyingly resilient enemies constantly swarming around her. But the fight was slow paced and she had an obvious weakspot that just got bigger the more you hit her. The next area provides an endurance test, a long narrow pathway filled with ranged arbalests waiting to snipe you as well as several soldiers armed with fire sticks, [[UpToEleven oh and on top of that a dragon periodically flies overhead and blasts fire over sections of the path]]. Reaching the end of that trial you are faced with three more ranged enemies in-front of you and two up above firing off arrows at you, and just to make it interesting there are a couple of [[EliteMook Black Knights]] ready to run at you and engage you in melee combat, and they pack a mean punch, all the while you have to try and avoid bolts flying at you unless you killed the arbalests quick enough and weren't vulnerable to the knights. But say you get through that gauntlet, in triumph you pass through the fog gate and what greats you; The Tower Knight a colossus that absolutely dwarfs you [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe wielding a shield as big as he is]] and a huge lance [[SwordBeam that shoots lazer beams,]] [[TinTyrant fully armoured from head to toe.]] And all around him are yet more arbalests trying to snipe you from high up perches. To top it off the recommended strategy is to run through his legs and get behind him, a tactic most players will hesitate to think about when they'd much rather run away from the three storey behemoth. Oh and if you die, [[HarderThanHard you have to do the whole thing over again,]] no shortcuts to the boss.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', the SpiritualSuccessor has a few more examples.

** The very first boss in the tutorial level, which follows a level with very weak enemies that don't look too menacing and who are stopped in their tracks by your shield. Then comes this towering ball of muscles with a giant axe, huge range, broad swings, and the strength to crush you and your shield in one hit. It's also one hell of a DamageSponge, taking about one hundred hits to kill. And, if you do manage to kill it (chances are you won't even touch it), you are then taken to another area which culminates with you getting punched to death by a monster five times bigger than the boss before. And then the game feels the need to cut down your HP to half till you beat another boss.

** The DLC from the [[UpdatedRerelease Prepare To Die edition]] opens with the Sanctuary Guardian, who's fast, durable, has a varied moveset, inflicts [[StandardStatusEffects poison damage]], shoots [[ArmorPiercingAttack lightning]] and just [[AttackAttackAttack does not let up]]. This introduces you to the boss style for the rest of the new areas, because [[BonusBoss Black Dragon Kalameet]] is further along and the storyline bosses aren't much slower or weaker.

** So you bought the game to see what the fuss was about. And, glory be, you breezed through the first levels like they were nothing. Then comes the Flamelurker, a fiery monstrosity with attacks that pierce your shield's defenses and BREAK them. And on top of that, they are impossible to dodge without a perfectly-timed roll with light equipment. The only way to survive this fight is to learn the importance of choosing your equipment to fit the mission better, eliminate extra weight to be able to roll, and to not depend too much on brute force and endurance.
** Another example is the very first boss in the tutorial level, which follows a level with very weak enemies that don't look too menacing and who are stopped in their tracks by your shield. Then comes this towering ball of muscles with a giant axe, huge range, broad swings, and the strength to crush you and your shield in one hit. It's also one hell of a DamageSponge, taking about one hundred hits to kill. And, if you do manage to kill it (chances are you won't even touch it), you are then taken to another area which culminates with you getting punched to death by a monster five times bigger than the boss before. And then the game feels the need to cut down your HP to half till you beat another boss.

* ''VideoGame/BloodBorne'': Like its [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls older]] [[VideoGame/DarkSouls brothers]], Bloodborne doesn't pull punches: one of the first mandatory bosses is Father Gascoigne, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters a crazed Hunter]] that thinks everyone's either a beast or slowly becoming one. He's either your first boss fight or your second, if you took the detour to kill the Cleric Beast earlier, which is ''highly'' recommended not only because you need to at least ''see'' a boss to start leveling up, but the experience will be invaluable: Gascoigne is a monster of a man that [[LightningBruiser hits like a truck, is faster than you]] and has three phases, each one harder than the last. The only way to survive the fight is to either have a good handle on the parry and visceral attack mechanics, something quite unlikely at that point, or quick fingers and knowledge of the terrain. Fortunately, he has an extra weak point [[spoiler: a tiny, unassuming, [[GuideDangIt very easily missable]] music box]] that stuns him on use. Only thing is, it will make him skip to phase three after two uses, and after the third it will stop working completely.

* ''VideoGame/BloodBorne'': Like its [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls older]] [[VideoGame/DarkSouls brothers]], Bloodborne doesn't pull punches: one of the first mandatory bosses is Father Gascoigne, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters a crazed Hunter]] that thinks everyone's either a beast or slowly becoming one. He's either your first boss fight or your second, if you took the detour to kill the Cleric Beast earlier, which is ''highly'' recommended not only because you need to at least ''see'' a boss to start leveling up, but the experience will be invaluable: [[spoiler: Gascoigne]] is a monster of a man that [[LightningBruiser hits like a truck, is faster than you]] and has three phases, each one harder than the last. The only way to survive the fight is to either have a good handle on the parry and visceral attack mechanics, something quite unlikely at that point, or quick fingers and knowledge of the terrain. Fortunately, he has an extra weak point [[spoiler: a tiny, unassuming, [[GuideDangIt very easily missable]] music box]] that stuns him on use. Only thing is, it will make him skip to phase three after two uses, and after the third it will stop working completely.

* ''VideoGame/BloodBorne'': Like its [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls older]] [[VideoGame/DarkSouls brothers]], Bloodborne doesn't pull punches: one of the first mandatory bosses is [[spoiler: Father Gascoigne]], [[HeWhoFightsMonsters a crazed Hunter]] that thinks everyone's either a beast or slowly becoming one. He's either your first boss fight or your second, if you took the detour to kill the Cleric Beast earlier, which is ''highly'' recommended not only because you need to at least ''see'' a boss to start leveling up, but the experience will be invaluable: [[spoiler: Gascoigne]] is a monster of a man that [[LightningBruiser hits like a truck, is faster than you]] and has three phases, each one harder than the last. The only way to survive the fight is to either have a good handle on the parry and visceral attack mechanics, something quite unlikely at that point, or quick fingers and knowledge of the terrain. Fortunately, he has an extra weak point [[spoiler: a tiny, unassuming, [[GuideDangIt very easily missable]] music box]] that stuns him on use. Only thing is, it will make him skip to phase three after two uses, and after the third it will stop working completely.

* ''VideoGame/BloodBorne'': Like its [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls older]] [[VideoGame/DarkSouls brothers]], Bloodborne doesn't pull punches: one of the first mandatory bosses is [[spoiler: Father Gascoigne]], [[HeWhoFightsMonsters a crazed Hunter]] that thinks everyone's either a beast or slowly becoming one. He's either your first boss fight or your second, if you took the detour to kill the Cleric Beast earlier, which is ''highly'' recommended not only because you need to at least ''see'' a boss to start leveling up, but the experience will be invaluable: [[spoiler: Gascoigne]] is a monster of a man that [[LightningBruiser hits like a truck, is faster than you]] and has three phases, each one harder than the last. The only way to survive the fight is to either have a good handle on the parry and visceral attack mechanics, something quite unlikely at that point, or quick fingers and knowledge of the terrain. Fortunately, he has an extra weak point [[spoiler: a tiny, unassuming, very easily missable music box]] that stuns him on use. Only thing is, it will make him skip to phase three after two uses, and after the third it will stop working completely.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' raised the stakes for the series with the ''first'' boss, Iudex Gundyr. Compared to the traditional WarmUpBoss the other games in the franchise usually give you, Gundyr isn't a huge, lumbering behemoth with easily-telegraphed attacks, he's a fast, agile and relentlessly-aggressive warrior with massive reach thanks to his halberd who can take even series veterans off-guard. And when you get him to half HP, [[TurnsRed the Pus of Man begins to spill from his body]], which is enough to put the wind up ''anyone.''

* ''VideoGame/BloodBorne'': Like its [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls older]] [[VideoGame/DarkSouls brothers]], Bloodborne doesn't pull punches: one of the first mandatory boss is [[spoiler: Father Gascoigne]], [[HeWhoFightsMonsters a crazed Hunter]] that thinks everyone's either a beast or slowly becoming one. He's either your first boss fight or your second, if you took the detour to kill the Cleric Beast earlier. Which is HIGHLY recommended not only because you need to at least ''see'' a boss to start leveling up, but the experience will be invaluable: [[spoiler: Gascoigne]] is a monster of a man that hits like a truck, is faster than you and has three phases, each one harder than the last. The only way to survive the fight (apart from cheesing) is to have a good handle on the parry and visceral attack mechanics, something quite unlikely at that point. Fortunately, he has an extra weak point [[spoiler: a tiny, unassuming, very easily missable music box]] that stuns him on use. Only thing is, it will make him skip to phase three after two uses, and after the third it will stop working completely.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', the SpiritualSuccessor has two examples.

** Another one is the game's second boss if Phalanx didn't do it for you, sure Phalanx had a lot of health and a lot of annoyingly resilient enemies constantly swarming around her. But the fight was slow paced and she had an obvious weakspot that just got bigger the more you hit her. The next area provides an endurance test, a long narrow pathway filled with ranged arbalests waiting to snipe you and several soldiers armed with fire sticks,[[UpToEleven oh and on top of that a dragon periodically flies overhead and blasts fire over sections of the path]]. Reaching the end of that trial you are faced with three more ranged enemies in-front of you and two up above firing off arrows at you, and just to make in interesting there are a couple of [[EliteMook Black Knights]] ready to run at you and engage you in melee combat, and they pack a mean punch, all the while you have to try and avoid bolts flying at you unless you killed the arbalests quick enough and weren't vulnerable to the knights. But say you get through that gauntlet, in triumph you pass through the fog gate and what greats you; The Tower Knight a colossus that absolutely dwarfs you [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe wielding a shield as big as he is]] and a huge lance [[SwordBeam that shoots lazer beams,]] [[TinTyrant fully armoured from head to toe.]] And all around him are yet more arbalests trying to snipe you from high up perches. To top it off the recommended strategy is to run through his legs and get behind him, a tactic most players will hesitate to think about when they'd much rather run away from the three storey behemoth. Oh and if you die, [[HarderThanHard you have to do the whole thing over again,]] no shortcuts to the boss.

** Another one is the game's second boss if Phalanx didn't do it for you, sure Phalanx had a lot of health and a lot of annoyingly resilient enemies constantly swarming around her. But the fight was slow paced and she had an obvious weakspot that just got bigger the more you hit her. The next area provides an endurance test, a long narrow pathway filled with ranged arbalests waiting to snipe yo and several soldiers armed with fire sticks,[[UpToEleven oh and on top of that a dragon periodically flies overhead and blasts fire over sections of the path]]. Reaching the end of that trial you are faced with three more ranged enemies in-front of you and two up above firing off arrows at you, and just to make in interesting there are a couple of [[EliteMook Black Knights]] ready to run at you and engage you melee combat, and they pack a mean punch, all the while you have to try and avoid bolts flying at you unless you killed the arbalests quick enough and weren't vulnerable to the knights. But say you get through that gauntlet, in triumph you pass through the fog gate and what greats you; The Tower Knight a colossus that absolutely dwarfs you [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe wielding a shield as big as he is]] and a huge lance [[SwordBeam that shoots lazer beams,]] [[TinTyrant fully armoured from head to toe.]] And all around him are yet more arbalests trying to snipe you from high up perches. To top it off the recommended strategy is to run through his legs and get behind him, a tactic most players will hesitate to think about when they'd much rather run away from the 3 storey behemoth.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', the SpiritualSuccessor has two examples.